The question of whether the brain of an infant (premature or newborn baby) should be treated at a lower temperature than the rest of the body has been increasingly discussed during the past few years. Clinical studies show that in the case of neurological damage to the brain the cooler temperature helps to heal the injury or to better overcome it. The cooler temperature helps to prevent possible damage to the brain in the case of possible disturbances in perfusion and blood supply.
In an incubator known from DE 40 08 822 A1, air is drawn in from the interior space of the incubator and is ascendingly returned into the interior space of the incubator via air feed ducts extending along the lying surface after humidification and heating. The air feed ducts are arranged on all sides of the lying surface, so that a warm air bell, with which optimal temperature constancy is achieved above the lying surface, is formed above the lying surface.